Machine for cutting expanded metal.



No. 792,728. PATENTED JUNE 20, 190.5.

G. G. MGKAY. l

MACHINE FOR CUTTING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MARA, 1904.

PATBNTBD JUNE 2o, 1905.

G. G. MGKAY. MACHINE FOR CUTTING EXPANDBD METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MARA, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

avm@ wb No. 792,723. l PATENTED JUNE 2o, 1905. G. G. MoKAY.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MARA. 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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MACHINE FOR CUTTING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MARA, 1904.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

ww @V No. '792,723- PATEN'IED JUNE 20, 1905.

G. G. MGKAY'.

MACHINE POR CUTTING EXPANDED METAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAE, 1904.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

' UNITED 'STATES Patented June 20, 1905.

PATENT OEEICE.

GEORGE G. M CKAY, OF YOUNGSTOW'N, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE YOUNGS- TOWNIRON & STEEL ROOFING COMPANY, OE YOUNGSTOV N, OHIO, A

CORPORATION OE OHIO.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING EXPANDED METAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,723, dated June 20,1905.

Application filed March ,1904. Serial No. 196,511.

T (all whom, 7115 717,04/ corto/Nut:

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. MoKAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Youngstown,in the county of Mahoning and i State of Ohio,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines forCutting Expanded Metal, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of maro chines in which cutterssuitably arranged and operated slit a sheet of metal and expand theslitted portion, forming what is termed expandcd metalg and my inventionconsists in certain details of construction of the machine having' fortheir object to properly regulate .the movement of the parts, feed andgage the sheet to be cut, and sever the same when required, as vfullyset forth hereinafter and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings,in

which-- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of sufficient of anexpanded-metal-making machine to illustrate my invention; Eig. 2, thesame, showing the parts in a different position; Eig.

3, a rear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 1 except the uppercutter-head; Eig. 4, a plan of the gage-frame and adjuncts; Eig. 5, adetached detail; Fig. 6, a plan of the feeder; I fig. 7, an enlargedelevation of the control device and adjuncts; Eiga-,8, a side view ofthe parts shown in Eig. 7 looking in the direction of the arrow; Eig. 9,a detached cross-section of part of the controller-wheel.

The frame A has guides for a verticallyreciprocating head B, and thelatter carries two series of knives or cutters 1 2, having V-shapededges arranged alternately, the cutters 2 below the cutters 1, and thelatter shear against a stationary straight-edged knife 3,

40 carried by the frame A, while the knives 2 shear against astraight-edged knife 4, carried by a drop-bar C. The reciprocatingmotion is imparted to the head B from a cam 5 on a shaft D through themedium of an extensible connecting-rod E, having two sections which maybe carried to or from each other by means of a reversely-threaded rod 6.

All of the above parts are such as have been heretofore employed and arewell known in this class of machinery and need not be further described.In the ordinary operation of these parts on the descent of the head Bthe knives 2 ii rst shear with the knife I and when one half the strandsof a mesh have been cut and expanded the knife 4t descends as the 55other half of the strands of the mesh are cut and expanded, so that eachline of meshes is completed by one descent of the cutter-head. It isobvious that in cutting meshes of different sizes the time of droppingthe bar C must be varied-that is, the said bar must be dropped later inthe operation of the machine if large knives making a deep mesh are usedthan when the knives are small and expand the mesh to a less extent. Topermit this variation, I impart the vertical reciprocation to thedrop-bar O through the medium of cams or eccentrics 8 on the shaft D,which, by contact with the bar, lift it and then allow it to dropsomewhat quickly as the heels 9 of the 70 cams pass from below the bar,and to vary the time of this action I so set the cams adjustably uponthe shaft D that they may be advanced or moved backward thereon. Anysuitable means may be employed for this purpose, but, as shown, there isa keyway 10 in the shaft D and a number of slots 12 in the hub of eachcam, and the cam may be set and secured in different positions bybringing either slot 12 opposite the keyway and then 30 inserting a key15. In order to facilitate this adjustment of the cams, I extend throughtwo or more of the same a shaft 16, carrying pinions 17, gearing withracks 18 upon the shaft D, the shaft 16 having square or flat faces 20,85 to which a wrench may be applied, so as to turn the shaft, causingthe pinions to travel on the racks, -carrying the cams and theirsupporting cam -rings with them. Preferably each cam-ring is made in twosections t b, 90 which may be applied to the shaft and then securedtogether by bolts 21.

The sheets are fed intermittently to the knives, and this feeding iseffected by means of a feeding device E, consisting of two parallel bars28 23, Figs. 1 and 2, and means for shaft 27 is effected from areciprocating arm 30, having a hub 31 provided with any suitableinternal roller-ratchet (not shown) that permits the arm to swing'outward without turning the shaft, but rotates it on its inward motion.This arm may be reciprocated from any suitable part of the machine-as,for instance, by means of a connecting-rod 33, extending to a lever R,Fig. 1, pivoted to the frame at 111-and the arm 30 is provided with apin 34, adjustable in the slot 35 of the arm 30, so that by adjustingthepin 34 the extent of feed at each movement may be varied. The lowerend of the lever R is in position to be lifted by a projection 110, Fig.3, at the side of one of the cams 8, to thereby swing the arm 30 to feedthe sheet, the reverse movement being effected by a spring 109 orotherwise. The rod 33 is in two sections, with an intervening'spring-box T, which permits the arm .R to move if the movement of thesheet is interrupted. The shaft 27 is provided with a hand-wheel 36, bymeans of which it may be turned to carry the bars forward by hand toproper position for starting.

While the feed device serves to carry the sheet forward approximately toits proper position -to be operated upon bythe knives, it is necessaryto provide a gage for the accurate adjustment and feed of the sheet,with means for holding the gage in position to meet the edge of thesheet and to carry it out of position before cutting. Such gage consistsof a series of gage rods or bars 38, sliding in a frame G, carried by ashaft H, rocking in bearings at the rear of the main frame A. As shown,the frame Gr has guides 39, Fig." 4, mounted on a cross-bar 8O of theframe and through which the bars or rods 38 extend, the rear end of eachrod being threaded and passing through a block 40, pivoted to an arm 41on the shaft H, with setnuts 42 for holding the rod in place afteradjustment. An arm 44, projecting forward at each side from the frameGr, carries a weight 45, and the two weights tend to lift the inner endof the frame Gr and its gagerods to a position for the rods to meet theedge of the plate, and the descent of the head B, bringing a part 90thereof into contact with the rods and with a roller 46 upon an arm 47,secured to the shaft, will cause the arm 47 to swing and rock the shaftH, and the of position to interfere with the cutting of the sheet. Theupward movement of the frame G is regulated by a set-screw 49, carriedby an arm of the frame and striking any suitably-arrangedstopping-surface. The extent to which the shaft H rocks and carriesforward the gage-rods is determined by a dog 50, suspended from a pin 51on an arm 52, carried by the shaft H, which dog as the inner end of theframe Gr rises strikes an adjustable stop 53 on the main frame. The arm52 is carried downward by a Weight 108.

Itis sometimes desirable to feed into the machine sheets which arelonger than the length of expanded mesh required to be produced. Forinstance, assuming that an expanded sheet of six feet in length can becut from a solid sheet of a given length, a solid sheet of double thelength required to produce six feet of mesh is fed into the machine, andI provide means whereby after one-half the length of the sheet is cutand expanded the cutters will operate to sever the expanded portion fromthe uncut section of the sheet, after which the latter is operated upon.Different means may be employed for causing the cutters to operate tosever the sheet at any desired interval; but in the construction shown Iprovide means whereby after a determined number of meshes have beenproduced to so set the gage-rods 38 that the sheet will not be fedforward sufficiently to produce another line of meshes, so that theknives or cutters will, instead of operating upon the sheet, operateupon the meshes already cut and sever the same. These means I will nowdescribe.

Adjacent to the dog 50 is hung a bell-crank 55, from the lower arm ofwhich a rod 56 extends through an opening in the dog 50 and carries anut 57, between which and the dog intervenes a spring 58, and a spring59 extends from the end of the rod 56 backward and is attached to thearm 52. The upper end of the crank 55 extends forward opposite the sideof a control device having a ratchet-wheel 60 turning upon the shaft H,and with this ratchet-wheel engages a pawl 61 on a rockshaft 62, carriedby the arm 52, and also a pawl 63, carried by a lever 64, mounted toswing on the shaft H, and from the lower end of the arm 64 a rod 65extends forward and through a guide 66 on the frame G. At the side ofthe ratchet-wheel 60 and secured thereto is a bandpulley 68, to a band69 of which is connected a weight 70. The rod 65, Fig. 4, has its innerend beyond the ends of the gage-rods and at each forward movement of thesheet is thrust backward, rocking the lever 64, the pawl 63 of which,engaging the ratchet 60, moves the latter one step or tooth, the pawl 61preventing any back movement of the ratchet-wheel under the action ofthe weight 70, From the side of the ratchet-wheel extends a lug 73, andfrom the lever 52 extends a lug 75. When the sheet to be expanded is IOOIIO

first put in the machine, the lugs 73 75 are in contact, and eachmovement of the ratchetwheel 64 carries them apart one step.

Upon the ratchet-wheel is secured an adjustable pin or stop 76, and thisis so set that when the proper number of cuts have been made the contactof the pin 76 with the upper arm of the crank 55 will swing the crankand carry the lower end onward to the position shown in dotted lines,Fig. 3, carrying with it the lower end of the dog 50, so that on thenext downward movement of the arm 52 the dog 50 instead of striking thestop 53 will escape the latter, and the arm will then descend, so as tocarry the gage-rods close to the knife 4L, and on the next feed of thesheet it will meet the gage-rods when it has moved only half the usualdistance, so that on the descent of the knife the slit and expandedportion will be cut from the sheet.

If the feed of the sheet were invariable, it would be sprung or theparts would be displaced when the gage-rods are set forward, as just setforth. I therefore provide a yielding connection that permits the partsof the feed device to move after the sheet strikes the gage rods withoutdetrimental strain. Thus I put a spring-box T in the line of theconnecting-rod, the spring in which is compressed if the movement of thearm 30 is arrested by the contact of the sheet and the gagerods, whilethe movement of the lever E continues.

When the arm 52 drops to its lowest position, an arm 8O on the shaft 62,carrying the pawl 61, is brought in contact with the upper end of astop-pin 81, Fig. 1, and the shaft 62 is rocked to carry the pawl 61 outof engagement with the ratchet, when the weight 70 will turn the ratchetback to bring the lug 73 into engagement with the lug 75 and carry thestop 76 away from the crank 55, the pawl 63 being lifted ysimultaneously with the pawl 61 th rough the medium of the connecting-rod 82 andlifting the lever 90, extending under the pawl 63. On the next upwardmovement of the arm 52 the parts assume thc position previouslyoccupied.

The contact or stop 76 may be adjustably secured to the ratchet-wheel inany suitable way, as shown in Fig. 9. The ratchet-wheel has an annulardovetailed groove 83 receiving the head of a screw-bolt, the threadedshaft of which carries a nut 84 and acts as the stop, the nut 34 servingto secure the bolt after adjustment. It will be seen that the stop 76may be so set that any predetermined number of cuts may be made beforethe gage-rod is thrown forward to insure the shearing of the sheet.

As there would be great frictional resistance to the swinging movementof the dog when it is pressed on the stop by the weight 108, I avoidthis result by connecting the dog and bell-crank, so that the latter asit swings puts the spring 58 under compression, and when the shaftrocks, carrying the arms 52 slightly upward and removing the dog fromthe stop, the spring will swing the dog to one side.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction shown, I claim- 1.In a machine for making expanded metal, the combination of thereciprocating cutterhead, its two series of cutters, a stationarycutter, drop-bar and cutter carried thereby, rotating shaft, and cams onsaid shaft arranged to lift and lower the drop-bar and adjustable tovary the time of dropping the bar, substantially as set forth.

2. In a machine for making expanded metal, the combination of thereciprocating cutterhead, carrying two series of cutters, one extendingbelow the other, a stationary cutter, drop-bar and cutter carriedthereby, rotating shaft, and cams on said shaft arranged to lift andlower the drop-bar and adjustable to different positions around theshaft to vary the time of dropping the bar, substantially as set forth.

3. In amachine for making expanded metal, the combination of thereciprocating cutterhead, drop-bar and cutter carried thereby, rotatingshaft, cams on said shaft arranged to lift and lower the drop-bar,shafts 16 extending through adjacent cams, pinions on said shafts, andracks on the rotating shaft engaged by said pinions, substantially asset forth.

4. The combination with the cutters ofa machine for making expandedmetal, of a feed device provided with bars sliding to and from saidknives and having' racks, a shaft, pinions thereon engaging said racks,a vibrating' arm, and devices for turning the shaft when the arm movesin one direction while permitting the shaft to be rotated freely in theopposite direction, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with the cutters of amachine for making expandedmetal and with a bed forv supporting sheets of metal, of a feed deviceprovided with bars sliding to and from said knives, means for moving thebars intermittently, fingers jointed to the ends of the bars, andsprings pressing the lingers toward the bed, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of aseries of rods, a movable framecarrying said rods, means for sliding the rods on the frame, and meansfor swinging said frame to carry the rods into and out of position togage the metal sheet, substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of a series of rods, a mov- IOOable frame carrying said rods, means for sliding the rods on the frame,means lfor swinging said frame to carry the rods into and out ofposition to gage the metal sheet, and means for regulating the extent ofthe sliding move-` ment of the rods, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of a series of rods, a movableframe carrying said rods, a rock-shafthaving arms to which the rods areconnected, and means for rocking the shaft, and for swinging the-frame,substantially as set forth.

9. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of a series of rods, a movableframe carrying said rods, a rock-shaft having arms to which the rods areadjustably connected, and means for rocking the shaft, and for swingingthe frame, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of a series of rods, a movableframe carrying said rods, a rock-shaft having arms to which the rods areconnected, means for rocking the shaft and for swinging the frame, andmeans for limitingthe rocking movement of the shaft, substantially asset forth.

11. The combination with the frame and cutters of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of a gage consisting of a series of rods, a movableframe carrying said rods, a rock-shaft having arms to which the rods areconnected, means for rocking the shaft and for swinging the frame, andmeans for limiting the rocking movement of the shaft and for varyingthis movement at intervals to limit the feed of the sheet, substantiallyas set forth.

12. The combination with the cutters and feed devices of a machine forslitting and expanding' and feeding a sheet in making expanded metal, ofmeans for causing the said cutters to shear and divide the sheet after apredetermined number of operations of the cutters, substantially as setforth.

13. The combination with the feed devices and cutters of a machine formaking expanded metal, of means for restricting the feed atpredetermined intervals to cause the cutters to divide the sheet,substantially as set forth.

14. The combination with the cutters of a machine for making expandedmetal, of gages for determining the normal feed of the sheet, and meansfor limiting this feed when a sheet is to be divided, substantially asset forth.

15. The combination with the cutters of a machine for making expandedmetal, of gages for determining the normal feed of the sheet, and meansfor setting the same mechanically to reduce the normal feed of the sheetwhen the latter is to be divided, substantially as set forth.

16. The combination with the cutters and gages of a machine for makingexpanded metal, of means for carrying the gages into and out ofposition, a dog limiting the action of said means, and a control deviceand connections for shifting the dog and extending the movement of thegages after a predetermined number of movements of the cutters,substantially as set forth.

17. The combination of the cutters, frame G, gage-rods carried thereby,rock-shaft having arms connected with said rods, an arm extending fromsaid shaft and carrying a dog, a stop arranged to make contact with thedog, and a control device and connections for shifting the dog after apredetermined number of actions of the cutters, substantially as setforth.

18. The combination with the cutters, frame G, rock-shaft and gage-rods,of an arm on the frame, a dog carried thereby, a stop arranged tonormally engage the dog, a control device having a wheel 60, and stopswhereby the gage-rods are at intervals set closer to the sheet,substantially as set forth.

19. rlhe combination with the cutters, frame Gr, rock-shaft andgage-rods, of an arm on the frame, a dog carried thereby, a stoparranged to normally engage the dog, a control device having a wheel 60,stops whereby the gagerods are at intervals set nearer the sheet, and arod 65 and connections whereby the wheel is turned step by step,substantially as set forth.

20. The combination with the cutters, frame Gr, rock-shaft andgage-rods, of an arm on the frame, a dog carried thereby, a stoparranged to normally engage the dog, a control device having' aratchet-wheel 60, stops whereby the gage-rods are at intervals setcloser to the sheet, a lever carrying a pawl engaging the ratchet, and arod connected to said lever and extending forward to be struck by thesheet to be cut, substantially as set forth.

21. rlhe combination of the cutters, frame G, shaft H, and gage-rodsconnected with said shaft, arm 50, a dog and bell-crank, a stop 53, aratchet-wheel 60, means for turning it step by step, and a stop 76 inthe wheel adapted to engage the said bell-crank, `substantially as setforth.

22. The combination of the cutters, frame Gr, shaft H and gage-rodsconnected with said shaft, arm 50, a dog and bell-crank, stops 53 and81, a ratchet-wheel 60, means for turning it step by step, a stop 76 onthe wheel adapted to engage the said bell-crank, and connected pawls 61,63, and an arm 80 connected with the pawl 61 and adapted -to engage `thestop 81, substantially as set forth.

23. The combination of the cutters, frame G, shaft H, and gage-rodsconnected with said Shaft, arm 50, a dog and bell-crank, a stop 53, aratchet-wheel 60, means for turning it step by step, a weight forcarrying it in a reverse direction, and a stop 76 on the wheel adaptedto engage the said bell-crank, substantially as set forth.

24. The combination with the cutters of a machine for making expandedmetal, of gages TOO IIO

duce the normal feed of the sheet when thel latter is to be divided, afeed device, a lever for operating the same, and yielding connectionsbetween the lever and the feed device, substantially as set forth.

25. In a machine for making expanded metal, the combination of thereciprocatinga cutter-head, its two sets of cutters in differentpositions, a stationary cutter, a drop-bar and cutter carried thereby,and means whereby to lift and lower the drop-bar and whereby to vary thetime of dropping the bar, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. G. MCKAY. Witnesses:

GEORGE HIGGINS, J. M. FINK.

